Public Service Announcement

You've at some time or another, been in a public place, minding your business, when out of no where you hear a blood-curdling scream. You turn and look and you find a woman, trying to yank her kid back up off the floor, usually by one arm and while trying to juggle her shopping, diaper bag, drink and purse. If she let's go, the 30lbs of thrashing weight will crack his head on the floor, if she holds on, she's afraid his shoulder, elbow or wrist (or all) will dislocate. She finally manages to pick him up and then she tries to cram him back in to the stroller/shopping cart while his rock hard Thom - I mean...running shoes are kicking her belly, chest and arms and of course the darn things are impossible to slide in to the leg holes at the same time. The kid will scream louder now, which will make you shake your head and stare out of the corner of your eye. When she bends over the apple juice in the diaper bag leaks out all over her back and you can see she just wants to cry, but being the "in-control" woman that she is, she smiles, takes a deep breath, tries to sweet talk the child in to calmness as she quickly straightens herself up, and glances around to see if anyone is staring. She sees so many eyes on her but she makes eye contact with you and you quickly look away or you try to sympathize and give her that "i feel so sorry for you" look. She fights the urge to throw her cup at you and instead holds her head high and begins to walk away but the kid completely melts down now and begins to thrash and gnash at himself. You begin to wonder what the heck is wrong with this kid and this woman...why does she have him out if it's past his nap time, or if he's sick, and why didn't she bring him a snack and some toys. If your old you probably think "kids these days!" or "I'd give him something to cry about". You can still hear the kid howling and screaming even though she's been walking at the speed of light to get away from the 200 eye balls burning holes through the back of her head. People are still turning and staring at them as they walk down the hall.

But you know what, maybe that Mom had a complete contingency plan...snacks and drinks, kid well rested, and feeling good. Maybe she had all his favourite toys. Because she IS a good Mom. She had a list of things to get accomplished today, and last week when she took him out he was an angel, so she thought she was OK to try again. She bought him his favourite lunch and for some reason he just didn't want it today. She cut the chicken strip up wrong. That's enough to throw you through a loop, when you are two years old, you know. The only thing she wishes she had done differently was to have brought the blanket and soother with her, rather than leaving it in the van. He hasn't been allowed to walk around with it for some time, but she's only been confident about not hiding it in the diaper bag for a few weeks now. The kid just happened to be off that day and just didn't want to be out shopping....which she didn't discover til she got to the mall. He suddenly started rubbing his ear when the crying started and putting his fingers on those new molars that have slowly been pushing through for the past few weeks. She got the message and packed up as soon as she could and left without finishing her errands. She's sorry she disturbed your lunch.

So do her a favour. Don't stare at her when you hear her kid scream. Just ignore them. If she isn't screaming back at him, or smacking him around, you know it's all just The Terrible Two's and not something worth paying any attention to. If you are near by, give her a hand if she needs it, but otherwise just mind your business. It's embarassing enough as it is, without having a large room full of people watching her.

Not that I have any experience with this....it's just what I hear. My kids are angels and would NEVER pull something like that on me at the food court of the mall, at lunch time, only an hour in to our shopping trip.